New petchem capacity additions drive growth in GCC

According to reports released by Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the petrochemicals industry in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Saudi Arabia continues to boost the region’s economy with new capacity additions and large-scaled projects.

The figures released by GPCA revealed that the growth in the chemicals output from GCC registered the fastest pace in five years at 8.5%, reaching 158.8 million tons. On the other hand, the GCC chemical industry posted $77 billion revenue, which implied a decrease of 3% from the previous year. However, GPCA’s General Secretary pointed out that the drop in prices was mainly driven by the downturn in global oil prices.

In 2016, the chemicals industry contributed to around $43.8 billion to the GCC economy, accounting for more than 29% of manufacturing revenue.

Saudi Arabia contributed greatly to the region’s chemicals output with its 12.7% growth in chemical production, which came in line with the Kingdom’s efforts to diversify its production away from oil.

The UAE’s chemical industry posted the highest manufacturing revenue across the region. Accordingly, the UAE accounted for 52% of the region’s manufacturing revenue with its expanded capacity.

Similarly, Oman’s chemical industry contributed to 51% of the GCC’s total manufacturing GDP, according to the latest industry report by GPCA.

Meanwhile, the GCC countries are advancing on their mega-projects in the region, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) Borouge, Oman’s capacity expansion in Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, Kuwait’s 615,000 b/d refinery at Al-Zour and the recent partnership between Saudi Aramco and SABIC on developing a crude oil-to-chemicals complex (COTC) in Saudi Arabia.